Philippians Prayer: He will continue the good work

Verse 6 (New living translation):
And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.

Having prayed with joy, Paul also has confidence in the Lord (see also Phil 2:24). Paul is saying to them that despite suffering they experience, God is not going to stop working. He has been at work in them through the act of salvation. But he doesnt stop there, he will continue working till the day that Lord Jesus Christ returns again.

Praise be to God that he is always at work and will continue in his work until the day of Jesus Christ.

Philippians Prayer: I thank God for you!

Verse 3-5
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,

Who do you thank God for? Is there someone you thank God for when you remember them? Paul in his regular set times of prayer was compelled to remember the gathering at Phillipi. When talking about prayer here, he is praying for someone who is lack something. He is praying because he knows that the Lord can fill that need. Notably Paul prays with joy! If you know this particular book, you will know that joy & rejoicing is something that is mentioned throughout the book. We know that joy is not dependent on our happenings like happiness may be. Joy sees past the events of the day to God who is working out his will for us. When Paul prays for them, he remembers how they are his partners in the gospel, they have contended with him for the cause of the gospel. He remembers how they had given him financial support. Not that he was looking for this as he had learnt to be content in any situation as we see in chapter 4 of this book.

Father, help us always to see past the events of the day and pray with joy.

Philippians Prayer

Last week I looked at a prayer of Pauls from Ephesians, here is a prayer Paul makes for the church at Philippi. Over next number of posts, we will look at Pauls prayer for the partners in the gospel.

Philippians 1:3-11:
I thank my God every time I remember you.
4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy
5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me.
8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,
11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-- to the glory and praise of God.

Corrie Ten Boom on Prayer

Here is a what Corrie says about prayer:

Don't Pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees

Corrie Ten Boom

To view more about Corrie click here

24-7 prayer

You will spot a new link in the prayer link section. 24-7 includes a section a operational world section which you are able to see various countries to pray for. You can view it here

Should I pray?

I recently spotted an article which was reporting how folks had undergone research to see if it makes a difference whether or not someone who is sick is prayed for or not. They come to the conclusions that for person that prayed for it causes more complications.

You can view the article here

I do not know what you think but I do not agree. When we bring our requests to prayer, we are approaching a sovereign God. In the Ephesians passage, we saw how Paul is still praying while around this passages he is speaking about the sovereign purposes of God. Paul believed and I believe that God answers prayer. Just like the theologians in this article I dont believe that we can subject God to such research. God works out with our control! And I am so glad he does because he knows best.

Passages on Prayer

I dont know about you but I have been encouraged by the these two passages I have been looking at here in this blog (Luke 22 & Ephesians 3). Is there passages about prayer that you have been encouraged about that we could maybe interact with here? Please feel free to leave a comment.

Paul's Prayer for The Ephesians Part 5

NO Limits!
Have you ever tried to compartmentalise God? This is what we try to do in so many areas of our life and before we know it - we are doing it in our prayer life with our heavenly Father. Below is the doxology (closing lines of praise & glory you could call it):

Verse 20-21:
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!Amen.

I wonder what do you ask God for or what do you imagine he can do? Paul is telling us He is well and truly able to do more than we can think or imagine. I can come to prayer BUT come out with a different result. Why because Father whom the whole family derives its name knows the best for his family.
In these closing verses, he acknowleges three things:
1) God will work out his plan for you
2) His power will be at work in us!
3) the church should work only for His glory

Prayer:
Father, I pray you would work out your plan for me, that your power would be at work in me and that I would always seek your glory in all that I do.

Paul's Prayer for the Ephesians Part 4

Love of Christ:

Verses 17b-19 is another prayer petition being made in this prayer to the Ephesians speaking about the love of Christ. The New Living translation brings out the theme for me.

Verses 17b-19 NLT:
May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

The Love of Christ is so deep that we will never fully be able to grasp it. I dont think that Paul is by any means trying to be demeaning when he says that we will never fully be able to understand it. We will only ever be able to get a glimpse of the love of Christ in this world. But yet Paul asks that Ephesians would be able to recieve power from God the Father to begin to taste the length, breadth of this love.

Prayer:
Father I pray that you would overwhelm me with the love of Christ. We have seen how you so loved the world that you sent your son in love to die for our sins. Thank you for your love so freely given,
Amen

Paul's Prayer for the Ephesians Part 3

Having addressed the Father, Paul now goes on to make is first request lets look at it here:

Verse 16-17a:
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17a so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

What is Paul praying/What should I pray?
Paul is praying that those who are at Ephesus will be stengthened from out of the Father's glorious riches in their inner being with power through the Holy spirit. We have seen in Ephesians 1 that the Fathers mighty power was used to raise his Son, the Lord Jesus from the dead. It is encouraging to know that same power at work in the act of the resurrection can be at work within us. So we are strenghtened with power through the spirit. Why do we need to be strenthened? So that even if we face a trial or difficult time - we know that we will be equipped to face that time.
Not only does the spirit strengthen our inner being but Christ lives/dwells/resides in our hearts - How? Through Faith! If we go into our own home we will make ourselves feel at home. If we have a guest then we will say to them "Just make yourself home" etc. So as the spirit Strengthens, so the Christ will be at home in your heart. Does Christ feel at home in your heart?

Prayer:
Father, thank you today that I am a part of your family and no matter what I can know that by your Spirit I can be filled inwardly and pray that Christ would feel at home in my heart.
Amen

Paul's Prayer for the Ephesians Part 2

Address the father is often a way in scriptures that prayer is begun. Lets see what these first two verses say to us:

Verse 14-15
For this reason I kneel before the Father,from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.

It is significant that while Pauls has been talking about the sovereignty and also the purposes of God, he still is turning to prayer. In verse 14, There is a real sign of submission. It was more normal for the people to stand or to lie but not to kneel which would indicate for us a deep emotion.
If you were not going to surrender to someone you would not kneel before them. There is a recognisation that you are kneeling before the father. What does it say in the Lords prayer?

Matt 6:9
'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

The Father who is being addressed is the father of those on heaven and earth and it is from him they derive their name. The father was one who created the world.


Verse 14-15, New Living Translation:
14 When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,
15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.


Other verses which speak about the Father: Ephesians 2:18, 4:6, Romans 8:15-17

Pauls Prayer For the Ephesians Part 1

I have drawn a lot of encouragment from the prayer of Pauls which we find in Ephesians and like last week we will look at these verses over a couple of postings.

Ephesians 3:14-21
For this reason I kneel before the Father,
15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

New Life for the Highlands

What do you think of at spring time? New life. A calf is born, Egg cracks open and out comes a little chick.
It is significant that the christian community celebrates Jesus' death and ressurection at spring time. Jesus death and ressurection indicates for me new life. The simple way of looking at it is men, women and children have been separated from God. Because of Jesus death and ressurection there is no longer that separation but man can be united to God.
Is this something you can believe in? I believe it! For it is an event that has changed history forever.

John 3:16:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Men and women if they believe in him will have life everlasting.
Men and women in the Highlands and beyond can know this new life that I have spoken about.


if you have interest in Churches networking together in please click on the following link:
Hi-land P-raise/

Happy Easter

Happy Easter and trust you will be able to celebrate this day and every day the fact that Jesus Christ died and rose again on the third day.

Luke 22:39-46

We have looked at this passage over the past four postings. If you have any questions you want to discuss here - please feel free to leave a comment.
May our prayer be this weekend that Lord would bring to our remembrance the agony he had to go through for you and I.

Holy week, prayer & temptation part 4

In the passage we have been looking at over the past couple of posts, Luke records Jesus requesting the disciples to pray so that they are not led into temptation. Essentially Jesus is saying if they pray they will not be led into temptation The following verses record it:

Luke 22:40
On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation."

Luke 22:45-46
45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.
46 "Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."

The disciples will remember how Jesus had taught them to pray and what was one of things that was being prayed there:

Matthew 6:13
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one

Holy week, prayer & temptation Part 3

Continuing in this Garden of Gethesmane Theme Luke 22:44 says:

And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

The anguish which Jesus is going through here would often be described as a extreme strain, anguish or sensitivity. Again the sweat which was like blood indicates for us the intensity of feeling that Jesus has at this point. What is that strong feeling that he is bearing? He is bearing the agony of the sins of the world. Even though he feels this strong feeling, Jesus continues in prayer and not only that but in earnest. As I have said in previous post - While Jesus enemies thinks they are plotting his death and to get rid of him once and for all, Jesus knows that he has to go through this for a reason!

Holy week prayer & temptation Part 2

We often pray that the Father's will be revealed to us. Jesus prays at the garden that the father's will would be done. The Jews were plotting to kill the Father's Son. But yet it was father's will that that the Son would be sent to the cross. Yet for the father it meant more he was sending his Son to defeat death and to conquer sins once and for all time! Jesus recognised that it was the Father's will to be done!

Holy week, prayer & temptation Part 1

Looking at the story of easter, I was interested to note that there is a passage on prayer and how Jesus requests that the disciples do not allow themselves to be led into temptation:

Luke 22:39-46

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him.
40 On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation."
41 He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,
42 "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."
43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.
44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.
46 "Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."

Prayer link

You will notice in the link section a number of links to Christian prayer sites, if you know of any others you would like to recommend - please feel to post these here and I can add them to the link section.

Encouraged by prayer?

Over this past wee while, I have been encouraged by the book of Nehemiah in scripture. Nehemiah in the Old Testament, a man of vision spends about 3 to 5 months in prayer. He then proceeds to build the walls in Jerusalem. God throughout that time God is answering his prayer. Please take the opportunity to respond if you have story of a time when you were encouraged by way the God, the lord of heaven answered your prayer.

New blog

Again welcome to this new blog, I am away from home over these next few days but please come back next week.
Phil

VisionBYprayer

Welcome!